In the exercise and fitness fields, elastic resistance exercise equipment—e.g., an exercise bar which may be gripped by a user, and which is affixed to one or more springs, elastic cables, or other elastic members to offer resistance to motion of the bar (e.g., in the nature of the bar of a barbell)—is a popular fitness tool. Examples of exercise bars which engage to elongated elastic members to provide resistance to bar motion can be seen in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,708 to Hinds, U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,867 to Hinds, U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,650 to Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,668 to Harker, U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,286 to Hinds et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,775 to Terry, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,075,461 to Terry. Some of these patents also illustrate elastic resistance exercise equipment using elastically-tethered handles, elastically-tethered bands which engage arms, legs, waists, etc., and other elastically restrained components, and further examples can be found (for example) in U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,649 to Fuller and U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,196 to Gvoich. Many of the devices shown in the aforementioned patents are advantageously of rather compact and light-weight construction, such that the devices can fairly readily be disassembled, transported, and then assembled elsewhere for subsequent use.
Suspended bodyweight exercise equipment—i.e., equipment which suspends some or all of a user's body above the ground, and allows them to work against their own body weight—is also popular, and tends to be relatively lightweight and portable. Examples of suspended bodyweight exercise devices can be seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,640 to Larsson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,354 to Shifferaw, U.S. Pat. No. 7,438,674 to Sjodin, U.S. Pat. No. 7,892,157 to Arnett, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,651,448 to Hetrick. Such devices equipment usefully allow easy variation in the amount of resistance encountered by users, with a user often being able to vary resistance from almost no resistance, to almost all of the weight of his/her body. In contrast, the resistance offered by elastic resistance exercise equipment can be restricted to the predefined elasticities of the elastic members provided with the elastic resistance exercise equipment. However, suspended bodyweight exercise equipment is not as readily usable as elastic resistance exercise equipment owing to its need for some sturdy structure to which the suspended bodyweight exercise equipment must be anchored, e.g., a doorframe, overhead bar, tree branch, etc.
Owing to the respective advantages and disadvantages of elastic resistance exercise equipment and suspended bodyweight exercise equipment, it would be beneficial to have equipment available which readily allows both types of exercise. Some prior equipment of this nature is available, e.g., that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,419 to Rota, but this equipment is not very versatile, and allows only limited types of exercise, and it is not easily disassembled, transported, and reassembled. It would also be useful to have equipment available—whether it be elastic resistance exercise equipment, suspended bodyweight exercise equipment, or both—which may be readily reconfigured to allow a greater range of types of exercise.